Never Were
by n-eddie
Summary: Why is that when he said it it felt different than before... it felt empty, hollow, and without emotion. crappy summary, i know. review please its my first story and i need to know how much i need to improve. rating is just in case.


I do NOT own any of the characters in this story or anything relating to the manga and show… the only thing that is mine is the storyline.

It had been months since Naruto had returned from his training trip with Jiraiya. He didn't seem to change much in the two and a half years he was gone, he was still loud as ever, annoying, and always full of energy. Still, kakashi could not help but regret that what Naruto had said was true. He wasn't a teacher and the way he had treated team seven was proof of that. Teachers treat everyone equally, they help learn right from wrong, and most importantly they help those who ask for it. If anything he was quite the opposite.

It had started shortly after jiraiya and Naruto returned to the village, Team 7 was having their first practice after being separated for so long. Kakashi had Sakura sparring with Sai while he sparred with Naruto to see how much he had advanced in the time he was gone. He had not expected to be pushed to his limits for two reasons, one: it was Naruto he was sparring with and two: he was using his sharingan to see every move the boy made clearly. Even with his eye he still had trouble keeping track of where his student was and the hand seals he used for his jutsus.

Sai and Sakura were having a battle of speed vs. strength when they both turned to an immense chakra signature they felt not too far away from where they were. When they finally got to the place where they felt the chakra they were astounded to see a crater that was fifteen feet in diameter and ten feet in depth. At the bottom of the hole was their sensei out cold with what appeared to be severe but non-lethal wounds and burns. Next to him was their orange clad teammate with a worried expression on his face. After Sakura did what she could with the more severe wounds they carried him the hospital to get treated properly.

Kakashi woke up in the hospital a couple hours later to find his chest and left arm heavily bandaged from the "spar" he had with Naruto. In shock of his condition he failed to notice the blond sleeping in the chair next to his bed unit said blond woke up after falling off the chair. After what seem like an eternity of awkward silence it was broken when Naruto spoke. "Sorry about putting you in here, Kakashi-sensei." It was not that Naruto had grown strong or even that he had been put in the hospital by him; it was the fact that Naruto was strong, much stronger than most ninja his age should be and that he had nothing to do with his growth that bothered Kakashi.

What happened next was something that Naruto had not been expecting, Kakashi started chuckling "you never cease to amaze me, we start sparring and I end up in the hospital. I have just one question… what did Jiraiya have you doing that made you so strong." After their conversation Kakashi was left alone to rest, but something that Naruto said kept bothering him. It was the way he said "sensei" that bothered him. He couldn't put his finger on it but he knew that something was missing from the way he said it.

After he was released he had a couple days off to recover but his thoughts kept wondering back to the conversation with Naruto. Not even his favorite orange book could take his mind off it. He finally came to the conclusion that he was going to have to confront Naruto to know exactly why he couldn't stop thinking about their conversation, but he wasn't going to just come out and say it he planned on listening to the way Naruto talked to others and to him to find out.

It was four days after he started listening to Naruto that he realized what was wrong. Kakashi was listening to a conversation that Naruto and Jiraiya were having when it hit him; sure the blond called jiraiya a pervert and ero-sennin but on the few occasions that the blond called the pervert "sensei" it was filled with respect, with admiration, and with affection. It was then that Kakashi realized why it bothered him, when Naruto called him "sensei" it seemed empty, hollow, and without emotion. He also notice that during their practices Naruto did not seem to get excited anymore in fact he almost seemed bored. It was then that he decided that he needed to talk to Naruto face to face; he decided it would be after their practice was over.

_Kakashi:_"Naruto can I have a word with you?"

_Naruto:_"Sure, what do you want to talk about?"

_Kakashi:_"I want to know what you think of Jiraiya as a teacher, what type of training he had you do, and how much time you spent practicing and traveling."

Naruto:"We usually spent anywhere from one week to two months at any place he decided was safe enough. As for training he showed me the jutsus, the hand signs, and gave me a basic explanation but other than that he left to learn them on my own. As for what I think of him as a teacher, all I have to say is he is the best teacher anyone could ask for. Why do ask?"

Kakashi:" No reason, I just wanted to know how I compared to one of the legendary sannin as a teacher. I'm actually quite surprised to learn that our teaching methods are pretty similar." It was at this that Naruto gave a snort. Just as Kakashi expected, Naruto disagreed with him and it was time to find out why.

Naruto:"No offense Kakashi sensei, but I never saw your teaching method considering you never taught anything."

Kakashi:"Would you like to elaborate on that?"

Naruto:"I mean that aside from tree walking Sakura and I never learned anything from you."

Kakashi:" What are you talking about; I showed you plenty of jutsus.

Naruto:"Like hell you did!!! All you did was show us the jutsus once and that was it!!! Even then you only did those so Sasuke could copy them with his sharingan!!! And you left Sakura and me with nothing, and after you did that you entered us in the Chunin exams!!! It's a miracle we are still alive considering how unprepared we were!!! Let me ask you something Hatake what was it you told us about ninjas when we met?!?!?!"

Kakashi:"Those that don't follow rules are trash but those that abandon their teammates are… worse…than..trash."

Naruto:" So tell me oh great teacher of mine what exactly are you? "

Kakashi:"I …"

Naruto:" Let me help you answer that; after the Chunin exams started what did you do with me when I asked you to train me? What did you do with Sakura?"

Kakashi:"I uh… you see… it's not that…well Sasuke needed…"

Naruto:" And you call yourself a teacher… you compare yourself to Jiraiya who was more of a sensei during that month long break in the exams than you ever were while team seven was still together. But you know Sakura and I should thank you for if it was not for your lack of teaching abilities we would have never felt the need to grow stronger and we wouldn't have gone to train with Jiraiya sensei and Lady Tsunade, but then again it was your inability to teach that split team seven in the first place because if you had taught Sasuke that power was not everything he might not have gone to Orochimaru in the first place."

Kakashi:" It's not that I never taught you anything it's that you never gave me the opportunity to teach you… you didn't stay long enough, instead you left with Jiraiya." It was at this point that Naruto turned to leave but before he did he said one last thing.

Naruto:" Don't say we never gave you a chance because you had plenty of time to start. You could have done so when we first became a team, after we faced Zabuza, or hell even during the break in the Chunin exams, and anytime in between these events you could have done something; instead you played favorites and focused on the Uchiha prodigy. Tell me kakashi if you are such a great teacher how come your only student left you… don't call yourself a teacher cause you never were."


End file.
